AACOMAS Personal Statement

[sfa59]

Hey everyone,
So this might be a dumb question, but on the personal statement section I was expecting to see a prompt, but it literally just says to submit the personal statement in the text box and I'm honestly just confused as to why there's no prompt provided. Can someone guide me? Thanks in advance

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[paradoxic_toxic]

You can write about whatever you want for your PS. Just can't exceed 5300 characters. Type it out in your favorite word editor and copy/paste it later.

 

[deleted859689]

Hey everyone,
So this might be a dumb question, but on the personal statement section I was expecting to see a prompt, but it literally just says to submit the personal statement in the text box and I'm honestly just confused as to why there's no prompt provided. Can someone guide me? Thanks in advance

Why do you wanna be a doctor? 5300 characters, go.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hey everyone,
So this might be a dumb question, but on the personal statement section I was expecting to see a prompt, but it literally just says to submit the personal statement in the text box and I'm honestly just confused as to why there's no prompt provided. Can someone guide me? Thanks in advance

"Why do you want to be an osteopathic doctor" is the main question. I'd add as sub-topics: What experience(s) convinced you that you'd make a great DO (and will convince the reader of the same conclusion) and what insights about clinical medicine and osteopathy did you glean from these experience.

 

[deleted859689]

"Why do you want to be an osteopathic doctor" is the main question. I'd add as sub-topics: What experience(s) convinced you that you'd make a great DO (and will convince the reader of the same conclusion) and what insights about clinical medicine and osteopathy did you glean from these experience.

You do not have to specify why osteopathic medicine in your personal statement - there are plenty more opportunities to do so on secondaries and during your interview. Most people re-use their personal statement from their AMCAS application which is fine. The last thing you want to do is trap yourself talking about osteopathic medicine rather than writing about your experiences/self-reflection that made you choose medicine. One thing you do not want to do is unintentionally bash MDs e.g. "DOs are better than the traditional physician because..."

I copied my AMCAS essay to AACOMAS. However, I will say that I talked a lot about the humanistic side to medicine and told stories about my past experience as an RA creating lasting relationships with me residents. Talking about the humanistic side of medicine is also more in line with the DO philosophy of "holistic" medicine. Don't make the mistake of thinking an MD does not practice "holistic" medicine either, however.

I think every DO school I applied to asked "Why DO / What does the mind, body, spirit mean to you? / What are the tenants of osteopathic medicine and which one resonates with you the most and why?" in their secondaries.

If you focus on talking about this during your personal statement, you are beating a dead horse to death and losing prime real estate to share more about yourself.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Kumorebi,

I think you are making a good point about balance in the PS, but I've interviewed people in DO admissions and they say that they like to see specific interest in osteopathic medicine. Now whether you put that in the PS and other essays or how much is a matter of balance and your personal story. If your MD personal statement was talked about the humanistic side of medicine, I can see where it could also work well for DO programs.

I still advise DO applicants to discuss the appeal of osteopathic medicine in their primary application. I agree that that discussion should't be the sole focus of the essay or app, but I recommend it be there.

And it appears to have worked for you, so congrats!

 

[sfa59]

Thank you all so much for your input! This definitely helped me and I'm sure it will have helped others who are applying as well

 

[deleted1044561]

I put mine as why medicine. You're going to have plenty of chances to explain why DO on secondaries and interviews. This way it won't sound too redundant if you keep repeating yourself.